Author: Anadolu Agency
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Saturday to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement. In a statement, Netanyahu’s office claimed that Hamas violated the Gaza deal by failing to free Israeli captive Arbel Yehud. “Israel has received four female hostage soldiers” from Hamas, “and in return will release security prisoners” the office said. Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers early Saturday under the ceasefire agreement with Israel. “In accordance with the agreement, Israel will not allow the passage of Gazans to the north of the Gaza Strip, until…
Over 1,000 demonstrators marched peacefully through Geneva on Saturday in a protest demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza. The “Big Geneva Protest” began at Lake Geneva and concluded in front of the UN Geneva Office, with protesters urging international action to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave. With police standing by, protesters chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” “Apartheid state Israel,” “End genocide,” and “Boycott Israel,” as they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners criticizing Israel and its attacks on civilians and health care facilities and…
Sergey Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), on Saturday voiced readiness to meet with John Ratcliffe, the US’ new CIA director, should the US express interest in such a meeting. “We’re always ready for negotiations,” Naryshkin said when asked by state news agency Tass about potential talks. On ongoing contacts between the SVR and CIA, he said: “We have an official representative in Washington, and the Central Intelligence Agency has an official representative in Moscow.” The statement followed Thursday’s swearing-in of John Ratcliffe as CIA director. Ratcliffe, 59, had served as director of national intelligence during the…
Moody’s Ratings has completed its periodic review of Türkiye’s credit ratings, reaffirming the government’s long-term issuer rating at B1 with a positive outlook. The review reflects improvements in Türkiye’s economic and monetary policies while highlighting ongoing structural vulnerabilities and institutional challenges. The report commends Türkiye’s resilient and diversified economy, which has shown signs of stabilization following recent policy shifts. Inflation, which peaked at 75.4% last May, declined significantly to 44.4% by December. Moody’s forecast inflation to drop to 30% by the end of 2025 as disinflationary measures take effect. The tightened monetary policy, a cornerstone of recent reforms, has been…
The Israeli army committed 20 more violations of a ceasefire on Friday that took effect in late November bringing total violations to nearly 660. The new violations come barely one day before the deadline for the Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Israel, however, said earlier that the withdrawal could take longer than the 60-day timeline. Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the violations concentrated in the districts of Bent Jbeil, Marjayoun and Nabatieh, included the destruction of homes, burning of cars, bulldozing of streets, damaging a mosque and opening fire toward Lebanese areas. The Israeli army carried out bulldozing…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak discussed cooperation to stop Houthi attacks, the State Department said Friday. They exchanged views on the “importance of ending the Houthi threat to the Red Sea maritime security and surrounding waterways,” spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. During the telephone call, they shared concerns regarding “unlawful “Houthi detentions of diplomatic, UN and NGO staff. Rubio highlighted US President Donald Trump’s executive order re-designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization as a “critical step” toward curbing the group, said Bruce. “The Secretary said that he looked…
The Israeli army committed 20 more violations of a ceasefire on Friday that took effect in late November bringing total violations to nearly 660. The new violations come barely one day before the deadline for the Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Israel, however, said earlier that the withdrawal could take longer than the 60-day timeline. Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the violations concentrated in the districts of Bent Jbeil, Marjayoun and Nabatieh, included the destruction of homes, burning of cars, bulldozing of streets, damaging a mosque and opening fire toward Lebanese areas. The Israeli army carried out bulldozing…
Syria’s new administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met in Damascus on Saturday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. The state news agency SANA said the meeting was also attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, without giving details about the content of their talks. In a previous interview, Sharaa predicted that most Syrian citizens abroad would return to their country within two years. Since Syrian factions ousted the Bashar al-Assad regime on Dec. 8, refugees have begun to return to Syria from abroad. Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took…
Türkiye will maintain its support for Palestinians ahead of the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, continuing efforts sustained over the past 15 months, said the nation’s president on Saturday, speaking amid a ceasefire between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel. “Just as we stood by our Palestinian brothers for 15 months (of Israel’s genocidal war), we will once again mobilize all our resources ahead of the holy month of Ramadan,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at the AK Party’s 8th Ordinary Provincial Congress in Eskisehir, northwestern Türkiye. Ramadan this year is due to fall around the month of March. Palestinian resistance…
The Israeli prison authority said Friday it is preparing for the release of the second batch of Palestinian detainees under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas. Israeli media said the release will include high-profile Palestinian detainees who have life-term sentences. The prison authority said in a statement that it is “preparing operationally and logistically” to implement the plan for the release of the prisoners, per political agreements. It noted that it received “the list of security prisoners” expected to be released from prisons. The statement added that following the completion of the required administrative procedures,…